Heater slug reducer



Aug. 15, 1961 B. A. NEFF 2,996,086

HEATER SLUG REDUCER Filed Dec. 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOIC Billy A. Heft i 9' 7' BY MM I? TTORN United States Patent 2,996,086 p HEATER SLUG REDUCER U Billy A. Neflf, Mill Hall, Pa., assighor to Sylvania Electric Products Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 16,1959, Ser. No, 860,012 4 Claims, (Cl. 140-71) This invention relates to wire winding mechanism such as is used in the electronic industry to wind insulatively coated filamentary wire into hat coils to be inserted into cathode sleeves and serve as heaters for the cathode sleeves.

A eommon form of machine for winding these filaments comprises an intermittently rotated head with blades thereon about which "the filament is folded as the headrotates and a pair of grasping jaws to hold the initial end of the filament. In one type of winding machine, after the filament is wound on the blades a 'pair of cutter reciprocates at a level below the jaws and above the blades, toward the initial end of the filamentary material held by the 'jaws as well as toward what will besame of the tail end of the filament, but which is still ettaehed a) the filamentary material, and these knives sat through both portions of the material to separate the wound filament from the supply of filamentary material. In doing so a portion of -the filamentary material which is "grasped by the 'jaws iswasted.

It is an object of this invention to minimize this waste of filamentary 'r'naterial.

How this is effected will be understood by considering the following specification and claims when taken in con- 'junction with the accompanying drawings in "which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the winding machine.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section through the machine 'talgen substantially on 'the broken line 2-2 of FIG. 1, with the winding head in FIG. '2 disposed 90 in advance of the head in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side View of the machine showing a cam plate forming part of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-"4 of FIG. 1.

BIG. 5 is a section through a motor utilized to operate a filament holding and shifting finger.

FIG. 6 is a perspebtive'view showing the filament winding head and associated parts and V FIG. 7 is a view showing the slug remaining after a filament has been wound and out off from the filament "supply.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, at 10 is indicated a casing provided with a screw on cover 11 and journaling a cross shaft 12 driven from a motor 14 through a'variable speed 'gear'reducer 1 6 such as a Reeves transmission. The motor and gear reducer are mounted on a shelf 17 fastened to the side of thecasin'g. Extendingfi throu'gh the front of the casing is a hollow winding shaft 18 'ri'gid 'with a winding head 20. The head is intermittently rotatively driven'fro'm the shaft 12 through the intermediaryof bevel gears 22 and 23 fixed on the shaft 12 and on a 'stub shaft 24, respectively, a Geneva drive in a housing 26 supported from the bottom of the casing, shaft 27 supported inthe housing and in the front wall of the Geneva casing, gears 28, 30 and shaft 18. The shaft 18 is retained against endwise movement by a pair of sellers 31 fastened to the shaft and rotativ'ely bearin against the inner and outer'faeeS of the front wall of the casing. Where the head is to make four revolutions between pauses, the Geneva drive would include a four lobed c'am While the gears 28 and 30 would be in the ratio of 16:1, the bevel gears 22 and as being in 1:1 ratio. Other numbers of revolutions of the head between'rot'ation pauses would entail 'a diiie'ren't ratio o'f'g'ears. g

Mounted on the head is "a fixed'windin'g blade ezand a shiftable winding blade 34, the blade 34 being mounted on one leg of a U-shaped carrier 36 rectangular in cross section, the other leg 37 of the carrier riding snugly in a rectangular guideway 38 within the head, with the blade 34 retracted toward the fixed blade 32 by a spring 40 surrounding a section of leg 37 and reacting against a perforated cap .plate 42 fast on the head and through which the leg 37 passes. Reciprocatable within the hollow shaft 18 is a 'conically pointed rod 44 which during winding operation of the head is advanced so that the conical head engages the conical head of a squared enlarged end 45 of the leg 37 and increases the distance between the blades to a maximum. After the filament has been wound on the head and the head has stopped revolving, the rod 44 is retracted to allow the blade 34 to be thrust by the spring 40 toward the blade 32 to free the 'wound filament from tight engagement with the blades for ease of remevalof the filament. The rod 44 is open ated by a confined cam 46 hired on the shaft 12, the cam 'cooperatingwith a follower roller 48 on a lever 50 mounted on a-lever shaft 52 fastened in the casing It the lever a see FIG. 6, and a cooperating movable jaw 62. The

movable jawis at the end of an arm 64 fixed to an os'eil latable shaft 70 near the upper end thereof, the shaft 70 being suitably rota-t'ably held in bearings 72 and 74 fixed on the head. The jaw 62 is urged toward the jaw 60 by a coil spring 75 anchored at one end in upper bearing 72 and at its other 'end in the lower end of shaft 70. The shaft 70-has afiixe'd thereto a right angled arm extend in'g toward the'cas'ing 10 and adapted to be engaged by a prejeetible square rod 84 slidable snugly in av square opening in the/front wall of the casing, to release a filament slu'g after a filament winding and cut off operation, a's'will be described. The rod 84, see FIG. 2, is "operated by a'close'd 88 fast on the shaft 12, the cam cooper fati-n'g afollower 90 on the end of a bell crank lever 94 'oseillatable on the lever shaft 52, the lever 94 being connected by api'ti'r'ia'n 98 with the rod 84. The parts are so timed that when the head is coming to a stop; after a winding operation, with the jaws 6d, 62 directly above "the blades 32 and 34, the rod 84 will have been projected into the path of movement of the arm 8!) and will have been engaged bythe arm to separate the jaws. At this time a blast of air will issue from a flexible end ofa nbz'zl'e 100 a't'the end of a pi e 101,"the air pressure being'under control ofa'valve 102 Whose valve stem 104 is o erated by a laterally projectin arm 106 on the ms 84. The earn 88 is so "shaped as to maintain the'rod 84 projected "and the air in the nozzle on during the rest position'of the head so as 'to allow the air to blow off the slug about the jaw 60 while the jaws are still open and while they 'ar'e'in front of the nozzle 100, the endof the nozzle being orientated to direct the air in the roper direotio'n "against the jaws. The rod will bewithdrawnb'y the cam 88 th allow the ews to close on a new end of the filamentary supply, "as will be described, beforethe head starts'to rotate again. 'After the filament hasbeen wound on the blades'32 and 34 and while the-head 20 is at rest and while both ends of thefilament are held, cutter knives 110 and 112 are reciprocated to cut oif the filament both at the end held by the jaws and '62 and at the portion joined to the'iila ment supply, the cut off of both ends being at the same horizontal level to leave equal length legs on the wound filament. The would filament isillustrated at 114 in'FIG. 6 together with associated parts, and the cut off slug is illustrated at 116 in -FIG. 7. The cutter knives arereciprocated in guides 118 atfixed by bolts 120 to bosses 122 on the casing. The end of each knife opposite its bevelled cutting edge is provided with a tongue 124 connected by a pin and slot connection to the forward end of a bent lever 126 pivoted in a forked car 128 projecting from the side wall of the casing, the opposite end of the lever being driven by a drum cam 130 secured to the shaft 12. The tracks in the cams are so contoured and positioned that the cutting blades will move to cut the filament and be retracted during the dwell period of the head and While both ends of the filament are held tight.

To advance the filament along the blades 32 and 34 to form a helical coil, as shown in FIG. 6, and to raise the supply end of the filament supply end after it has been cut from the folded filament so that the raised end may be inserted within the head carried jaws 60 and 62 with very little or no protruding filament below the jaws, there is provided'the following mechanism:

" Slidably mounted in a bearin'g132, see FIGIZ, in the 1 front wall of the casing is a long sleeve 134 carrying at the end exterior'of the casing a bracket 136 to which is attached a horizontal combined guide and filament grasping finger 138. Longitudinally slidable in the sleeve is a rod 140, whose end projects beyond the front end of the sleeve and is there provided with a bracket 142 to which is attached a finger 144 parallel to and mating with the finger 138. The ends of the fingers are projectedtoward each other to grasp the cut off filament supply end after the head has ceased rotation, and transport it from j parallelism of the fingers, the rod 140 is provided with a pin 146 riding in a guide slot 148 in the sleeve 134. The sleeve and rod together constitute a carrier which is ad vanced forwardly as a unit during the rotation of the winding head and backwardly 'after'stoppage of head rotation by operation of a closed cam 150 secured on the shaft 12, the closed cam operating on a lever 15,2 pivoted on a stub shaft 154 projecting from the inner sidewall of the casing and connected by a lever arm 155 and pitman 156 with an enlarged head 157 integral with the sleeve 134. The connection of the pitman with thehead and lever 152 is slightly loose to allow small rotational movement of the sleeve 134. To advance the finger 144 with respect to the finger 138 in order to release the filament, the rear end of the rod 140, see FIG. 5, isprovided with a piston 158 in the chamber 160 of a motor block 162 fastened to the rear end of head 157 by'bolts 164. Fluid pressure is fed to the chamber 160 behind the piston through a flexible conduit 166, the air in the conduit being under control of a triple valve 168'fixed inany convenient fashion to the floor of the casing, a valve stem 170 of the valve being under control of a cam 172 fixed on the shaft 12. When the valve stem is pressed in, air is admitted to the chamber 160. When the valve stem is released, the triple valve will vent the chamber to atmosphere. The cam 172 is contoured to cause the fluid pressure to be applied to the piston While the fingers 138, 144 are moving toward the free ends of the blades 32 and 34. Just before the knives cut off the wound filament from the supply and from the grasping jaws 60, 62, the air pressure in the cylinder is vented by the valve 168, and a spring 174 bearing against an end wall of chamber 160 and reacting against the underside of piston 158 effects a closure of the free ends of the fingers on the supply end of the filament. The free ends of the fingers are then brought in toward the casing 10 and raised as will be described, to bring the filament supply free end between the jaws 60 and 62. After the jaws 60 and 62 have been closed, by withdrawal of the rod 84, and prior to the start of rotation of the head 20, fluid pressure is reapplied to within the block 162, to again separate the fingers. The fingers now advance along the blades in a direction away from the casing and act as a guide for the filament as it is 4. being wound on the blades 32 and 34 and feed the filament toward the free ends of the blades to form a spirally wound filament. g

Since the knives necessarily operate, see FIG. 1, at a horizontal level below the jaws 60 and 62, and sufiicient clearance must be afforded between the level of the cutting edge of the knives and the bottom of the jaws 60 and 62 to allow for thickness of knife and for clearance such as is necessary to provide manufacturing tolerances in the operation of the machine, the wire which is cut off from the supply end of the wound coil, i.e. the end 176 held at the time of cut in the fingers 138, 144 cannot be cut off at a level which is flush with the lower ends of the jaws. The supply end of the cut off wire, if fed by the fingers 138, 144 directly back at a horizontal level to between the grasping jaws 60, 62 would extend a considerable distance below the jaws. Since theslug 116 is waste material it is desirable to put just enough wire in between the jaws 60 and 62 so that it may be properly held during filament winding and so that a minimum of slug length would be attained. To effect this result the free ends of the fingers are tilted up as the end 176 of the wire is carried back to the jaws. The mechanism to do this comprises a collar 178 secured about the sleeve 134, the collar having integral therewith a bracket arm 179 with an upstanding angle piece 180, see FIG. 1. Rigidly mounted in the angle piece is a pin 181 on the end of which is a roller 182, the roller riding in an inclined cam slot 184, see FIG. 3, in a forwardly projecting cam plate 186 afiixed at its rear end to the casing 10, as by screws 188 passing through openings in the plate and threaded into the side wall of the casing 10. The slot inclines downwardly and rearwardly toward the casing, and as the sleeve 134 is withdrawn by action of the cam 150 and associated parts, the roller 182 will ride downwardly in the cam slot 184, oscillating the sleeve 134 and associated shaft counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 1, and lifting the free end 176 of the wire.

The wire is fed in any convenient fashion to the winding head, as by mounting on the casing cover an idler sheave 192 supported by an angled arm 194 to bring the sheave in line with the opening between the jaws 60 and 62, the wire coming off from a spool of wire 196 suitably supported in standards 198 on the cover.

What is claimed is:

1. In a filament winding machine, .a rotatable head, winding blades and a pair of filament grasping jaws on said head, means for operating the jaws to grasp and release filamentary material held therebetween, a pair of cutters operative to cut the filamentary material held by the jaws and Wound on the blades, means to operate the cutters, a pair of fingers mounted to move perpendicularly to the head for grasping the filamentary material just prior to cut off and for leading the supply end 'of the material toward and in between the jaws after cutting, means to so operate the fingers, and means to raise the free ends of the fingers as they are moved in toward the jaws to raise the lower end of the filamentary material with respect to the jaws prior to clamping of the jaws on said lower end and thus the amount of waste filamentary material.

2. In a filament winding machine, a rotatable head, winding blades and a pair of filament grasping jaws on said head, means for operating the jaws to open and close the same on the end of a filamentary supply, means opera tive when the head is in a position with the grasping jaws above the blades to cut off the filament wound on the blades from both the filamentary supply and the end of the filamentarymaterial held in the jaws, said cutting means comprising blades movable in a horizontal plane spaced below the lowermost plane of the grasping jaws, means to operate the cutting blades, and means to feed the supply end of the filamentary material to the grasping jaws comprising a pair of fingers mounted for movement perpendicular to the head and grasping the filament just prior to the cutting of the filamentary material and releasing the end of the material after it has been grasped by the jaws and guiding the material along the blades during rotation of the head, means to so operate the fingers, and means to lift the end of the filamentary material held by the fingers prior to insertion of the material in between the grasp of the jaws to minimize the amount of waste filamentary material.

3. In a filament winding machine, a casing, a rotatable head thereon and means for rotating the same, winding blades and a pair of filament grasping jaws on said head, means for operating the jaws to open and close the same on the end of a filamentary supply, means operative when the head is in a fixed position with the grasping jaws above the blades to cut off the filamentary material wound on the blades from both the filamentary supply and the end of the filament held in the jaws, said cutting means comprising knives movable in a horizontal plane spaced below the lowermost horizontal plane of the grasping jaws, means to operate the knives and mechanism to feed the supply end of the filamentary material to the grasping jaws and to guide the filamentary material toward the free ends of the blades as the head rotates, said mechanism comprising fingers straddling the material, means to move the fingers, while separated, and while the head is rotating, in a direction perpendicular to the head to effect spiral winding of the filamentary material on the blades, means to effect closure of the fingers on the material after stoppage of head rotating and prior to operation of the cutting knives, a longitudinally movable carrier non rotatably carrying the fingers to move the fingers toward the grasping jaws and means to elevate the free ends of the fingers as they move toward the jaws comprising a cam follower carried by the carrier and a cam plate with a slot accommodating the cam follower mounted on the casing.

4. In a filament winding machine, a casing, a rotatable head thereon and means for rotating the same, winding blades and a pair of filament grasping jaws on said head,

means for operating the jaws to open and close the same on the end of a filamentary supply, means operative when the head is in a fixed position with the grasping jaws above the blades to cut off the filamentary material wound on the blades from both the filamentary supply and the end of the filament held in the jaws, said cutting means comprising knives movable in a horizontal plane spaced below the lowermost horizontal plane of the grasping jaws, means to operate the knives and mechanism to feed the supply end of the filamentary material to the grasping jaws and to guide the filamentary material toward the free ends of the blades as the head rotates, said mechanism comprising a sleeve slidable and rotatable in the casing and movable in a path parallel to the length of the blades, means to reciprocate the sleeve, a finger fixedly carried by the sleeve, a rod reciprocatable within the sleeve, a pin and slot connection between the rod and sleeve to prevent rod rotation within the sleeve, motor mechanism on the sleeve efiective to reciprocate the rod, a second finger on the rod, said fingers being parallel to each other and straddling the filamentary material and guiding it along the length of the blades during winding and adapted to grasp the cut end of filamentary material to bring it to between the jaws after filament cutting, a cam follower fixedly carried by the sleeve and a fixed cam on the casing cooperating with the roller to oscillate the sleeve when the sleeve is longitudinally moved to raise the free ends of the fingers and the free end of the filamentary supply, as they are moved toward the jaws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,846,767 Steuer et a1. Feb. 23, 1932 2,371,780 Sirp Mar. 20, 1945 2,380,320 La France July 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 844,263 France Apr. 17, 1939 

